Out of the Shadows — Susan Lewis

Friends Reunited, teenage crushes, tabloid fame, evil predators - none of it was on the agenda the day Susannah Cates came home from work to the unwelcome shock of finding a for sale board outside her house. All she knew then was how desperately she wanted her world to change. Since her husband had been carted off to prison, three years before, life had become a constant struggle to provide for herself and their teenage daughter. Nothing ever seemed to go right, the most she hopes for now is that no more will go wrong.

Worried by her mother's unhappiness thirteen year old Neve decides to take matters into her own hands. She is sure she knows what will bring the light back to Susannah's eyes and the warmth to her smile, and when Susannah's closest friend Patsy discovers what Neve is up to, she immediately lends her support.

As their plans start to unfold they have no way of knowing what kind of fates they are stirring, all they can see is Susannah's excitement when they reveal their plan, because at last a way seems to be opening up for her to escape her bad luck. Then other forces start swooping in and very soon the future begins to look even brighter than Susannah ever dared hope.

The journey from a humble terraced house to a grand Elizabethan manor turns out to be as thrilling and unpredictable as it is full of love, laughter and friendship. However, the spectre of horror is all the time pacing behind the scenes, working itself up for an entrance that must go unseen, or even suspected, if it is to achieve its aim. When the time finally comes for it to step out of the wings only one person knows it is there, threading its monstrous intent through their lives, breaking apart the very fabric of innocence. By the time the others realise what's happening it is already too late, the worst is done and there is no turning back...

Never, in all Susannah's wildest dreams, could she have imagined her happiness causing so much pain to someone she loves. There is nothing she wouldn't sacrifice now to make things right, but the forward march of time has no interest in sacrifices, it only moves on leaving heartbreak and devastation in its wake, and its victims to try and pick up the pieces.